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Devoted to the Word
by Doy Moyer When the problem of neglected widows came up in Acts 6, the apostles told the church to choose seven men of special quality to take care of it so that they would be able to “devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). What does it mean…
Read MoreWhat About the Next Sunday?
by Terry Wane Benton Some people meet with the church on “Easter Sunday” and hardly ever anytime else. That is out of tradition, not out of thinking seriously about doing the will of God. Tradition has been in the family to at least go to church one time a year, maybe two. But what about…
Read MoreThe Pilate Philosophy
by Terry Wane Benton Pilate washes his hands of killing Jesus Matthew 27:24 The Pilate Philosophy is to wash your hands of responsibility and to pretend there is no way to know the truth. “What is truth?” (John 18:38), he asked Jesus. There was also a “cancel-culture” mentality in his presence in the Jews wanting…
Read MoreMale and Female
by Andy Diestelkamp Male and female are not defined by the cultures and generations in which we grew up. They are not defined by the present culture. They are not defined by the cultures in which Abraham, Moses, or David lived. They are not defined by the ancient nations of Israel, Greece, or Rome. They…
Read MoreBy This Time You Ought To Be Teachers
by Jim Mickells “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). The author of this book is rebuking those to whom he is writing for…
Read MoreThe Confirmation of Jesus Christ
by Jefferson David Tant The following is a presentation of the absolute evidence that confirms the true identity of Jesus Christ. There are those who admit that he was a great teacher, but that he was only one among others, such as Buddha, Mohammad, Vishnu, etc. But the evidence is overwhelming that he is who…
Read MoreFaith Is Reasonable
by Doy Moyer Faith is reasonable because trust, which is the heart of biblical faith, is reasonable. Faith does not require that every question be resolved before it can proceed, for that would not be considered trust. A child does not wait for parents to answer every question about difficult matters before trusting them. The…
Read MoreWho Will Teach Our Children?
by Jefferson David Tant It is patently obvious that babies are born uneducated. They are not born with the ability to do math, read, or do science projects. And along with this is a lack of knowledge about God and His will for us. They do know when they are hungry or in pain, but…
Read MoreOn Drifting Away from the Faith
by Terry Wane Benton If we surveyed churches that declined in attendance because of COVID, we may find an alarming number of brethren who fell or are in process of drifting further away. I remember thinking a long time ago that should persecution arise in our country, and it was viewed as a crime to…
Read MoreLies People Protect
by Terry Wane Benton In the first century, Paul exposed the lies people were telling each other. It was that an animal is a god to be worshiped (Romans1:18-26) and that such gods allow us to make up our moral standards as we desire. Thus, one lie protected all kinds of sin. Since the moral…
Read MoreWhy Do Churches of Christ Not Use Instrumental Music?
by Allen Webster Churches of Christ love music. Singing is a prominent — and favorite — part of each service. Most congregations dedicate a Sunday night each month to learn new songs and to sing old favorites. Annual singings can draw thousands of people. Many Christians sing daily as they go about their tasks (James…
Read MoreWhose Voice Are You Hearing?
by Doy Moyer “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Whose voice are we hearing? We are all listening to someone’s voice, whether it be the voice of culture, the voice of another perceived authority, or the voice of Jesus. There is no escaping this. “Hearing the…
Read MoreThe Lunch Lady
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the best-attended funerals I’ve ever preached was for a school lunch lady. Her name was Marlene Norris. She was a faithful member of the church in Joliet, with which I was working at the time, along with her husband and three of her children. As is the custom in…
Read MoreSetting Your Mind on the Things of God
by Doy Moyer What we are trained to think about truth will be determined by whether we are thinking the things of God or the things of man. Recall that in Jesus’ rebuke of Peter’s reaction to Jesus talking about His own death, Jesus said, “For you are not setting your mind on the things…
Read MoreTo Call or Not to Call
by Jefferson David Tant Names, that is. For some time brethren have discussed whether or not we can mention denominational names in our preaching. Some say we offend and drive people away when we mention the teachings of the Catholic or Baptist churches, etc. While we agree that such can be abusive and mean-spirited, is…
Read MoreHow Jesus Dealt with His Friends
by Steve Goff A true friend is not easily found. A trustworthy advocate who consistently manifests affection for us and who honestly seeks our best interest without ulterior motive is rare in this life. But one such friend available to all men is Jesus Christ. In temptation, we can find no greater comfort than from…
Read MoreThe Passover Paradigm for Christ’s Death and God’s Wrath
by Doy Moyer How can understanding the connection between Christ’s death as the Lamb of God and the Passover event help us in understanding Christ’s death as it relates to God’s wrath? First, to see Christ’s death connected to Passover is biblical: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (I Corinthians 5:7). Second, we cannot…
Read MoreCareful with the Word “Miracle”
by Gardner Hall I see increasing numbers of references among disciples of Christ referring to events in their lives as miraculous, or even asking for a miracle. Perhaps it’s time for a reminder that we don’t live in the miraculous age. That fact almost used to be taken for granted in congregations I know and…
Read MoreJericho and our Salvation
by Jefferson David Tant After reading the title, some might wonder what the battle of Jericho has to do with our salvation today. The battle when Israel conquered Jericho was about 1410 B.C., over 3,400 years ago. Thus the question might be, “What in the world would some event over three thousand years ago have…
Read MoreMy Take on Bible Classes
by Matthew W. Bassford There’s no doubt that I’m a better teacher than a preacher. My first love is the lectern rather than the pulpit, and I “get” teaching Bible classes in a way that I’ve never gotten preaching sermons. Also, I’ve always been satisfied with the way my Bible classes have gone. Generally, they’re…
Read MoreRead It for Yourself
by Doy Moyer If I judge Christianity by what people tell me I should think, I would come away with a very different perception from what I can read in Scripture. If I judge Christianity by the people alone — people who, like me, are so flawed and sometimes hypocritical — then I would, again,…
Read MoreCussing and Cursing
by Perry Hall “Words are just words.” A friend who was a new Christian had just fired off an “F-bomb” while we were playing golf. When I suggested such language should not be used, he got angry and said, “Words are just words. I don’t mean anything by them.” Well, obviously he did because when…
Read MoreUnashamed of the Shame
by Doy Moyer “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God in having that name” (I Peter 4:15-16). There are many reasons why people suffer, but they are not all equal.…
Read MoreWhy Were the Disciples So Sure?
by Matthew W. Bassford One of the most significant proofs of Jesus’ resurrection is the early disciples’ sincere belief that He had risen. They maintained this belief in the face of great hostility from earthly powers, enduring persecution, prison, and death rather than recanting. Whatever else they were, they were not deceivers. However, we also…
Read MoreSister Peter
by Sewell Hall From the Roswell Family Report, March 18, 2012 Fifty years ago, it was easier to remember the names of Christians than it is now. Every man’s first name was “Brother” and every woman’s name was “Sister.” Now, most people are known by their given names almost exclusively. We must return, however, to…
Read MoreThe Bible – God’s Revelation
by Fanning Yater Tant “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” These are the words of Solomon as found in Ecclesiastes 12:12. In his day the books were made and written only by hand. Hundreds of scribes would…
Read MoreWalk Worthily
by Doy Moyer “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”…
Read MoreWine in the Bible – How Fermentation Was Prevented
by Ryan Hasty Wine in the Bible is spoken of as a blessing in its unfermented state and as an intoxicant in its fermented state. Many do not realize that those living in biblical days were able to keep their wine from fermenting and in fact did so regularly. How did they accomplish this in…
Read MoreFoundational Terms
by Doy Moyer “The process of conceptual clarification always begins with ordinary usage of the concept to be clarified, so our conception of the truth ought to sound a lot like what you already believe the truth to be.” (Dolores G. Morris, Believing Philosophy, p. 50). That quote captures one of the main reasons why…
Read MoreTeaching the Next Generation
by Andy Sochor It has been said before that the church is just one generation away from apostasy. This is certainly true. While there are exceptions to any rule, generally what the wise man said is accurate: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not…
Read MoreThe Dispensable Man
by Matthew W. Bassford There is no surer sign of being a control freak than wanting to control things postmortem. I qualify. Though some of my anxiety is directed at the prospect of dying slow and ugly, most of it is aimed at what will happen after I’m gone. What will happen to my family?…
Read MoreWhy Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
by Jefferson David Tant One of the frequent questions I get, often from young people, is “If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world? Why do we have children starving in Africa? Why are women raped and murdered by marauding men? Why are innocent people mowed down by a…
Read MoreThe “We” Passages in Acts
by Matthew W. Bassford Like the other historical books of the New Testament, neither Luke nor Acts explicitly identifies its author. However, it is evident from the introduction to each book and the style used throughout each that both were written by the same hand. The first identification of this writer that we still have…
Read MoreAre Prophets for Today?
by Paul Mays “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Either that is right or…
Read MoreQuran and Book of Mormon
by Terry Wane Benton These books or the people peddling them as books of God are way too late to be considered as equal to the Bible as inspired books of God. Jesus told His apostles that they would be guided by the Spirit into all truth (John 16:13). All truth from God was therefore…
Read MoreChildren Do Come with Manuals!
by Jefferson David Tant Some months ago, my wife and I bought a new car. Well, it is about five years old, but it was new to us. Thankfully, it had an important document in the glove box — an Owner’s Manual. I don’t think I will ever learn about all the gadgets that the…
Read MoreSelf-Control (Hall)
by Bill Hall What is the value of self-control? Self-control is that which enables us to hold our tongues when we are tempted to viciously put someone in his place once and for all; or when we know a juicy bit of gossip that would be entertaining to the group and would turn us into…
Read MoreKeep sweeping!
by Gardner Hall About 1831, Sydney Smith told the story of an old woman by the name of Mrs. Partington who was observed outside her house by the sea trying desperately to hold back the encroaching ocean tide by sweeping at it with a broom. The story became a popular illustration of someone who is…
Read MoreNever Alone
by Barbara Foster In 1993 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Over the course of a year, I became increasingly disabled. Through it all, I was never alone. When I was temporarily blind, Christ led me through the darkness. When I was unable to walk, God took away the fear. When my world was turned…
Read MorePulpit or Personal
by Jefferson David Tant So, what do I mean by the title “Pulpit or Personal?” It has to do with the preacher’s challenge to preach the gospel. Obviously, there are different ways by which we can shine the light of the gospel into a world full of darkness. We can publicly preach from the pulpit,…
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